


Inconvenient

by kareotsan



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Red String of Fate, Soonyoung is gifted, Strangers to Lovers, idk how to tag so im really sorry, photography club, wonwoo is whipped
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22930291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kareotsan/pseuds/kareotsan
Summary: “Don’t act so cocky,we don’t even know each other that well.”orSoonyoung is blessed with an ability that he didn’t asked for and is faced with frustration when he finds out his first love isn’t his soulmate.//Inspired by a manga i read online that i don’t really remember what the title is.//
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	1. An Inconvenient Ability

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!This is the first fic that I have ever uploaded on ao3.This fic is almost finished already so I’ll upload regularly.The system of ao3 is quite complicated so please understand me if I’m somehow late in uploading the chapters. Thank You!

It’s still a mystery how he ended up with the ability.No explainable reasons nor causes that his family could give to him.Not even a made up story or the clichè ,“You were gifted” to make him feel at ease.Soonyoung found out about it when he was 6.His uncle and his (now divorced) wife had visited their house during the holidays.They were supposed to read him a bedtime story and of course ,out of all the possible things they could have talked about,they chose to tell him about the red string of fate.

A sharp noise of a book shut closed echoed through his room.  
“And that,Soonyoungie ,is what a red string of fate is. So if your string is tied to another person, that special person is your soulmate!”

Soonyoung stared at his uncle dead in the eyes.He then averted his gaze towards his uncle’s wife and with no emotion whatsoever, said with a flat tone ,pointing his plump finger to her pinky,

“Then why is your string not tied to Auntie’s?”

Boom.

The sound of the thick book hitting the nightstand broke the silence.The next few moments, filled with fake awkward chuckles and laughs and a few lines of “Silly kid,you don’t even know what you’re talking about.” and “Of course, it’s tied, we love each other.”

Or loved?

Sure enough,a year after that , they broke their ties completely and divorced each other mutually.Simply, along the reason of “We fell out of love.”

Of course, being only a kid,it had traumatised Soonyoung.He had blamed himself and had apologised with tears in his eyes to his uncle.His uncle,being an angel that he is, simply hugged the fragile being and embraced him ,telling him it’s not his fault.

Fast forward to 21, Soonyoung is an average college student in Seoul.Sure, it felt nice to leave Namyangju and move to Busan during his early high school years.That is until certain rumours started to evolve around him again at school about him being a psychic and a relationship breaker. A lot of “strong couples” had broken up due to Soonyoung’s mere attitude of saying  
“ I Don’t Give A Fuck About Your Love Life, Oh Look,Your Red String Of Fate Is Tied To Someone Else.”

So much for true loves.

Some students even went to him for advices like ; “Should I date her?” and “Whose string is tied to mine?”. It annoyed him so much that he’d rather stay in hell.Not to mention the amount of shit he got for accidentally causing his P.E teacher to break up with his beloved fiancé.Though,he was supposed to be thanked by his teacher. Had he not spilled the situation about the red string, his teacher wouldn’t have caught his fiancé cheating on him.

The only good things that came out of his high school life are probably his excellency in both studying and dancing and meeting his life-long best friend, Lee Jihoon. The only kid who also “Gives No Single Fuck About Love And Is Just Here To Learn.”  
Ah,the joy he felt when fate has made him sat next to Jihoon during his second year of high school.

Finally,someone who started a conversation with a brief, “Hey, is the history teacher always this annoying?” and not with a, “So,I’ve heard that you got some supernatural powers.”

The duo worked hard in high school and have both been accepted in their first choice of university,together.Soonyoung majoring in Engineering and Jihoon pursuing his dream of becoming a music composer.

It was in university, that they have added a few new friends to their small circle.Junhui and Minghao, the international students from China, whose personalities are total opposites,yet are still close like brothers.Joshua, the Korean-American boy who came to Korea because he wanted to learn more about Korea and Mingyu, the self-proclaimed “I Can Do Anything.” man,though he is clumsy as hell,he could even snap a piece of titanium in half even if he’s merely touching it.

It was a bright day indeed.Someone would have thought it was summer but no,it’s a long way from summer.Spring.Ugh. The season of falling in love and dating in the flower blossoms and being lovey-dovey and gross and blegh.

Just thinking about going out made Soonyoung shuddered in disgust.He wore a dark facade early in the morning when a couple sat next to his table at the cafe and started doing coupley things.

“It’s way too early for this shit.”He glances over at them, “They’re not even connected,what a joke.”

“Hey.” Soonyoung snaps his attention to Jihoon.  
“8.24 am and we’re already dissing couples,Soonyoung?”  
Minghao arches his eyebrow,eyes still focusing at his book.

“I swear to god,Soonyoung,as someone who has been friends with Jihoon since forever,you’re actually a bright kid.Until, someone mention ‘love’ and all I see is two Jihoon being grumpy.” Junhui takes a bite in his cheesecake,shoving the fork in front of Soonyoung,trying to get his point crossed.

“Thanks,I take that as a compliment.”  
“So,” Minghao closed his book,places it on the table and takes a sip of his coffee.

“So?”

“About the photography club,” Soonyoung rolls his eyes with a hushed grunt. _Here we go again._  
He thought as Minghao casually proceeds.

“You up to it? I really need you to join us.As a model. You don’t even have to do anything. Just strike a few poses and you’ll get student credits for that.Don’t even have to take photos.Easy?”

“I told you so many times that I am already a member of the dance club.Ask Junhui,instead.Or your boyfie,Mingyu.They’re clearly fit for it seeing as their bodies are perfect.”

It’s funny how they met Mingyu,Minghao and Junhui for the first time in their class.Soonyoung noticed how despite Minghao and Mingyu being connected with a string,they try to keep it down a notch and not let the world know that they’re a couple.He decided that they’re not that bad after all.

“And I told you as many that we’re allowed to join two clubs at the same time.Hence, why I am undeniably the member of both photography and dance club.Most of us thought you have the perfect height and body proportion.Also,Junhui and Mingyu work part time at a local convenience store so they’re unavailable almost all the time.”

“Jihoon?”

“I’m fucking short,asshole.”

“Exactly.”

Soonyoung was about to open his mouth to argue when Minghao,hand clasped together, pleads with bribery ,  
“I’ll buy you ice cream for as long as you want me to.”

_Shit.No way.That’s way too good.How can he even refuse that.He’s way to good at bribing.  
Nah,it’s all bluff._

“I said No.”

“You know,a birdie told me that your beloved hoobae is actually a member of photography club.” Junhui says,wiggling his eyebrows.

Soonyoung looked at him confused. _Beloved hoobae? Who..? Wait._

“Shit,for real ,Minghao?”

Now,Minghao stares at him confused.He switches his gaze to Junhui and finally gets what he meant.

“Ah,you mean Nagisa?Yeah,she’s a member.Always there at the club room.”  
Minghao takes another sip of his coffee.

“And you didn’t even think about telling me? You know how much I adore her.” Soonyoung frowns his face.Nagisa, or as Soonyoung likes to call her ,Nagisa-chan, is an international student from Japan.According to Soonyoung, she is the “Kindest,most gentlest girl I have ever met.She’s also cute so that’s a bonus.”

If there’s one thing he knows about red string of fate,it’s that no one is tied to the other person right at the outset or as soon as they were born.The timing of the connection differs from person to person.That’s why he hates it when people ask him who their soulmate is.Like,how the hell is he supposed to know?

However,looking at the bright side,Nagisa-chan’s string is not connected to anyone near her,meaning he does have a chance.Sometimes,it takes time for the red string to finally properly connect with others.He has lived for 21 years and yet he still haven’t found who his string is tied to.  
He likes to think that maybe his string would one day connect with Nagisa-chan’s.

Minghao shrugged,taking out a poster from his bag and gave it to Soonyoung.It’s a poster about joining the photography club as a model that Soonyoung had seen too many times.He then points his index finger to the name in the bottom of the poster,right next to the club’s president name.

Vice President : Nagisa Takahashi.

Soonyoung forms an ‘o’ with his mouth and smiles sheepishly.

“It’s because you never read,Soonyoung.”  
Soonyoung let out a laugh and continues to look at Minghao with sparkly eyes.  
“Okay, I’ll join you.”  
Minghao put down his cup vigorously on the table,looking at Soonyoung with total disbelief.

  
_That’s all it fucking takes to make him join?Just tell him Nagisa is a member and he straight up sign for it?He’s totally whipped._

“Okay ,so I assume you can come tomorrow? I’ll introduce you to everyone.”  
“Cool,and I’m still up for the ice cream.”  
Minghao sighs and nods lazily while Soonyoung looks at the poster giddily.  
_Yup,he’s whipped._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)) I’ll upload regularly for you guys!Also, I know Soonyoung is usually portrayed as a bubbly, loving,happy-go-lucky boy in fics but I just thought I’d try something different.
> 
> I’d appreciate it if you leave any comments or kudos.Thanks for the support! :))


	2. An Inconvenient Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’ve literally been trying to find the time to finish this fic. Honestly, starting a fic is easy but finishing it is damn hard.I keep changing the plot halfway and I’m honestly still not sure about any of these chapters I wrote but here’s another chapter that I came up in the middle of the night cause I have trouble sleeping nowadays.

Minghao let out a grunt in frustration.He mustered all his strength one last time and attempts to pull Soonyoung off the bench in front of their club room.

“Fuck,Soonyoung you agreed.Don’t bail on me now.I even bought you your ice cream.”

Soonyoung hugs the bench like his life depended on it.He’s showing a look of nervous and fear on his face.

“No,what if I make a fool of myself? In front of her?”

“You won’t-“

“Minghao?What are you doing? Where’s your buddy?” Nagisa peeks her head out of the room looking at Minghao’s back.

‘Stand up bastard’ He whispers under his breath.

He turns around and smiles at Nagisa.

“This,right here is the one.” He pulls Soonyoung’s arms forwards.

“Oh?Soonyoung sunbae? I thought Minghao said you’re not up to it?”

Minghao raises his eyebrow and slowly creeping his lips into a smirk.

“Yeah, about that, he found out that you-“

“I changed my mind! I’m not really busy after all,so I figured I could help my dear friend,Minghao over here.” He pinched Minghao’s waist causing him to stop talking.

Nagisa seems to buy it,proceeds to invite Soonyoung into the club room.

“Minghao will introduce you to everyone,though I’m pretty sure almost everyone already knows you,Mr. president of the dance club.”

Soonyoung feels his face flushed a bit and smiles sheepishly.

“You don’t have to start today,just get use to the environment and get comfortable with the members.We’ll start tomorrow.”

Soonyoung flashes a big smile ,gesturing an okay sign before Minghao abruptly drags him away.

“You’re smiling like an idiot,stop it before you embarrass yourself.”

A week has passed and Soonyoung is pretty much satisfied with his life.Most of the photography members thanked Minghao for persuading Soonyoung into becoming a member. Though,Minghao probably cries everyday due to his lack of money since he has to buy ice cream everyday for Soonyoung.Being the president of the dance club,Soonyoung has a pretty flexible body,making it easy for him to do many poses and stunts.Hence, he is by far the favourite of photography club.

It’s another day of him modelling for the photography club.They were all done with their activities,packing up their gears to go home.

Soonyoung as usual, had a chat with Nagisa during their walk to the near station with Jihoon,by his side.

“Well, see you tomorrow,sunbae!”

“Bye, Nagisa-chan!” Soonyoung waves like an idiot and continues to do so until Jihoon slaps his arm. 

“Come on, let’s go.We’ll miss the next train.”

He drags his idiot of a friend for the umpteenth time.He does this everyday. It’s been only 9 days since he signed up and Jihoon is already done.

They turned around and were about to walk away towards the opposite station when he felt something on his pinky. _No way. _He took a glance at it and sees the red string on his pinky lengthening to the opposite direction ,which only means one thing. His soulmate is near.

He abruptly turns his head toward all directions and could clearly see the red string leading him to the other station. _ That’s the station that Nagisa-chan goes to everyday. Shoot,could it be? _

Without even explaining himself to Jihoon, who yelled at him that the train is already there, he ran towards the other end of the red string.He took a sharp left at the corridor and bumped into a taller boy.

“I’m sorry, I’m-“ Soonyoung drops his books in horror as he looks at his red string. He blinks a few times and there’s no denying, his red string of fate is connected to the boy in front of him.The boy hisses in pain as he rubs his shoulder.Seeing Soonyoung all froze up after he dropped his books made the boy ask him in concern.

“Are you okay?”

A split second after, Soonyoung dashes away from there,leaving his books.

_ Fuck,fuck,fuck,no fuck this shit. _

The boy,left confused, tries to pick Soonyoung’s books up and yelled at him,

“Hey! You left your b-“

He straighten his body and jolted when Soonyoung was suddenly in front of him again,vigorously taking his books in his arms, breath out a quick thank you and ran away.

The boy blinked his eyes a few times before unknowingly turning the corner of his lips upwards.

“Adorable.”

The way back home consisted of Jihoon nagging nonstop because, “You made us miss the train and now we gotta wait another 27 minutes,I have an assignment due tomorrow,I don’t have time for this-“ and all the other things included which Soonyoung didn’t really hear cause he’s too busy being depressed.

The whole day went pretty dull.Jihoon being dumbfounded as to why Soonyoung suddenly ran off at the station and then started being moody after that.He shrugged it off ,knowing that if Soonyoung wants to share his problems,he’ll open up to Jihoon.He didn’t wanna force Soonyoung to tell him,he will if he’s ready.

Soonyoung didn’t think too much about it. Okay, that’s a lie. He cried and mourned at the fact that Nagisa is bounded to be other people’s soulmate and not his.The fact that his ‘soulmate’ is more handsome and taller than him doesn’t help too.He felt insecurities rushing in.But he managed to calm himself down that night and filled himself with positive thoughts that maybe, he just had to avoid meeting that boy again and all will return to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know,very predictable.Jeon Wonwoo is his soulmate and man’s not happy about it.Poor Jihoon he had to deal with his idiot of a friend :’)


	3. Another Inconvenient Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop.Decided to upload 2 chapters in a row cause I felt like the last chapter was too short.I’ll probably upload another chapter in a day or two.I’ll try to finish this cursed fic and upload all the remaining chapters by the end of march!

Soonyoung stares into space as he watches his hopes crumbling into dust.

He arrived at the club room early with Jihoon and waited at the bench for Minghao to arrive.Jihoon simply tagged along as he didn’t have anything to do and thought it’ll be fun to watch how the photography club works.A pair of legs stopped in front of them.He looked upwards to greet his friend.Except, it wasn’t Minghao ,whose feet was standing in front of him.

It was ‘the boy’. The cursed so called soulmate.

He looked at him in bewilderment and snapped out of it when Jihoon nudged his side.

“You know this guy?” He whispers hushly.

Soonyoung shakes his head in denial.

The boy smiled at him and said, 

“Hey,we met yesterday at the station.Remember?”

Soonyoung was about to say something when someone suddenly greeted them.

“Hey guys! Sorry,I’m late.Oh! Hyung, you’re here too.That’s great! So,do you think you can fix them?”

“Ah,Minghao.Yeah, it’s no biggie.Just a little twist here and there and you’ll be able to use it again.”

Jihoon cleared his throat, shifting the attention to him.”Who’s this?”

Minghao blinked at them.He raised his eyebrows ,looking clearly blank.

“Oh,you guys don’t know him?”

_No and I’m not interested to know anything about him so can we just move on with our own lives now_ - was the response Soonyoung had in his mind but what came out is just him shaking his head.

“Seriously? He’s like the smartest kid in campus.Everyone knows Jeon Wonwoo.What rock have you been living in?” Minghao’s description had Wonwoo blushing.

“Sir, I’d like to remind you that we live in the same apartment.”Jihoon crossed his arms.

“Anyways, let me introduce you to Jeon Wonwoo,Korean Lit. Major.He’s good with techs so we figured maybe he can help with the broken lightings.”

Soonyoung stares at him blankly with no emotions showing on his face.

“Hyung, this is Jihoon,from Music Composition Major and-“

“Kwon Soonyoung,right? Dance club’s president.You’re pretty famous here.”

Soonyoung raises his eyebrow at Wonwoo. 

_ Well, great.Just fucking great.He knows me,meaning I can’t avoid this thing. _

He then double checks his pinky and yup,not hallucinating.It’s there ,alright.

“Hyung, you can start with the lights.Don’t mind us over here.”

Minghao points towards the few lighting stands that are broken and needed to be fixed.

Soonyoung nudged Jihoon’s arm.

“Why the hell does this kid call him hyung and not us.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes in annoyance. 

“You said so yourself, as housemates we shouldn’t be too formal with each other and told Minghao to drop the honorifics.”

“Ah.But still,-“

“Soonyoung,here put it on.We’ll start in 30 minutes.”Soonyoung takes the outfit given to him.It’s almost a routine now. He finishes class early,goes to the club room and waits for Minghao to open the door cause he’s the one with the keys.Wears whatever clothes given to him,wears a bit of make up and they start taking his pictures.Sometimes,other kids will be the model but most of the time it’s Soonyoung cause then again,he is the favourite after all.

Soonyoung makes his way to the changing room but stops almost immediately after he scanned the outfit.

((Just to give you an idea ;It’s almost like the outfit he wore at the al1 fansign where performance unit danced to ‘who’, white oversized silk shirt and a pair of leather pants.also,a choker.))

Minghao looks at him, “Anything wrong?”

“Well,yeah? This outfit? What’s with this tight pants.And this,do I have to wear a choker? Are you kidding me?”

Minghao looks blankly at his fellow members and Jihoon.

“Soonyoung,you wear those kinds of outfits all the time on stage.What’s the problem ?”

_ Nothing.Except,fucking Wonwoo guy being here is the problem. _

He sighs and shrugs.”Sorry, a bit stressed today.Everything’s fine.”

He then proceeds to go inside the changing room,clearly not fine,closing the door way too hard and caused a loud bang noise.

“What’s the matter with him?He seems off today.”Minghao poises his question towards Jihoon as he sets up his camera.

“You tell me.He seems off since yesterday.I think he’s been acting like that since on our way back home?”

“Huh,no wonder Mingyu seems a bit upset at Soonyoung this morning.He must’ve said something harsh or cold at Mingyu.Poor Gyu.”

Jihoon gags dramatically at Minghao.

After a few minutes in the changing room,Soonyoung stares at his reflection in the mirror.He let out a sigh for the nth time.He’s definitely not flattering himself but this outfit totally does not help.Sure,he has worn more scandalous and sexier things but knowing that ,this Wonwoo guy is right outside ,he feels uncomfortable in this simple outfit.Damn,Minghao sure knows how to pick good clothes.After a while,he musters all the courage and steps out of the room.

Just as he expected, Wonwoo couldn’t stop staring at him.Especially his choker.He swore he saw Wonwoo’s flustered red face when he looked at Soonyoung in that outfit.The whole day felt painstakingly slow to Soonyoung.Especially, when Nagisa arrived in the middle of his shooting.Each time he looked at Nagisa ,he smiled with fondness,and then his gaze fell onto her pinky, further reminding him that he’s not her soulmate.

It’s like every time he looks at her, an angel descended from heaven with a gentle smile greeting him and slaps him hard in the face when he looks at her pinky.

Soonyoung,as Minghao commented, did poorly.His photos and expressions lacked something.Jihoon said he looks dead all the time and suspects that he really is hiding something.

All the other members,even Wonwoo, noticed how lifeless he seemed.

“Are you alright,sunbae?”Nagisa frowned ,knowing that it’s unusual of him to be this depressed.

“Ah, I’m-“ Soonyoung’s eyes gazed at her pinky again and his sentence was left hanging. The constant reminder of “You’re not Nagisa’s soulmate.” makes him more and more fatigued.

“-just tired.Can we take a break?” He smiled weakly and Nagisa nods,telling Minghao that he should ask Soonyoung if he’s okay or not.

He goes straight back into the changing room before Minghao could even stop him.After a few moments,Jihoon knocks on the door begging for him to let them in.He opens it letting Minghao and Jihoon in.

“Soonie,are you okay?Are you sick?” Minghao asks,with concern in his voice feeling broken up seeing his friend looking very low-spirited.Jihoon doesn’t show it but he’s also worried sick about Soonyoung.He’s usually the brightest kid out of all of them.

Soonyoung says nothing in response except a small nod. “Can you go on?” Soonyoung weakly shakes his head.

He then mumbles a few words but still can be heard by both of them, “Can we stop here for today?” he speaks in a tiny voice that even Jihoon went all protective and agrees that they should settle for the day.”Yeah,sure.Let’s go home,okay? I’ll tell the others that you need to rest.”

Soonyoung replies with a subtle thanks and lets go of Minghao.

Nagisa and the rest of the members were more than okay to let him stop for the day.They were as worried as Minghao and Jihoon were.Not forgetting Wonwoo,of course.Looking quite concerned himself.

The ride back home in Minghao’s car was quiet but it felt comfortable for Soonyoung.Both of his friends know well that it’s the best they wait for Soonyoung to open up to them himself rather than bombarding him with questions.It kinda reminds them of last year,when Soonyoung was acting quite similar,and it was because he couldn’t come up with a proper choreography for his upcoming tournament.

Junhui came back to their shared apartment at dinner and he was very dumbfounded when their dinner was quite awkward and dull.It all became clear when they all were lounging in the living room and Jihoon started to ask Soonyoung about his condition.

Jihoon approached him gently and softly,not forgetting to say “it’s okay if you don’t feel like telling us.” at every question he asked. It’s around these times, that Jihoon would soften his personality.When one of his friends, especially Soonyoung is facing a problem.His way of consulting people has never failed him.At the end of the day,they would all eventually open up to him. Some of his friends even recommend him that he becomes a consultant or a therapist instead, if music doesn’t work out for him.He chose to ignore their suggestions ,of course.It’s music or nothing for him.

After a few turns of nodding and shaking heads,Soonyoung finally bursts into tears.He told them about what happened and the reason he felt down. They understand perfectly.He has been developing feelings for Nagisa for almost 2years and according to Soonyoung himself,Nagisa is his first love.It’s like what they said “Man’s first love is always unforgettable”.

“Soonyoung.” Jihoon calls softly,holding his friend’s shoulder.Soonyoung lifts his head to face Jihoon,looking grateful and thankful for having a friend like him. “Do you mind telling us who your soulmate is?” Soonyoung blinks away his tears,ready to tell his friends.

“And again,it’s totally fine if you feel uncomfortable and rather not tell us.” Both Minghao and Junhui nod in unison.They were pretty much muted the whole conversation,leaving the job to Jihoon.They’ve been friends longer,after all.Soonyoung shrugs and answers with an unsure tone.

“Jeon Wonwoo.”

Silence fell between them.It’s like finishing a puzzle with the last piece.All of it clicking together quite nicely for Minghao and Jihoon.The sudden moody behaviour he had since yesterday, and when Wonwoo said “We met yesterday at the station.” before Minghao met them in front of the club room.The refusal of him wearing the outfit, when all his other outfits are so much more scandalous and sexy.The looks of disappointment every time he looks at Nagisa.It all make sense now. Junhui,of course remains confused but figured he’ll just ask Minghao later on and goes with the flow for the time being.

After half an hour of comforting Soonyoung and calming him down,each of them retreats to their own rooms.A couple of knocks on Minghao’s door was made, as he flips over another page of his book.He looks upwards to the door and shut his book close,placing it on the pillow next to his.He scoots over to the door and opened it,revealing both Junhui and Jihoon.He would be lying if he said he wasn’t expecting or seeing this coming.Of course,they had to have a talk among themselves about their dear friend.

Minghao ushers them in and all of them settled on his bed.

“So,Jihoon explained what happened to me.That’s messed up,honestly.”

Minghao raises an eyebrow,showing a face of disagreement. “What’s messed up?”

“What I’m saying is,he’s been liking this Nagisa girl for years and then turned out his soulmate is not her.Not even a girl.”

Jihoon speaks up with his hands crossed,”Soonyoung’s as straight as a circle,a boy wouldn’t be a problem.”

Minghao nods enthusiastically.

”Besides,Wonwoo hyung is a great guy.It’s not like he’s uninterested either.”

Junhui holds his hands up.”Hold up,you’re saying that Wonwoo likes Soonyoung?”

“Like is an understatement.You have no idea how much he vent about Soonyoung being too ‘hot and inviting’ on stage and ‘cute and squishy’ off stage.It’s gross.”

Jihoon lifts his eyebrows and butts in,“Whoa there,slow down.So,if Soonyoung hadn’t meet Wonwoo that day,it’ll make no difference cause Wonwoo was already in deep?Wow,remind me not to question the power of the red string again.”

“Exactly,he can’t avoid it.It’s bound to happen and as much as I like to stir things up,I say we go with the flow and let them be.He’s a great guy.”

“Yea,you said that already.Guess I don’t have to worry about anything then.Since we don’t see each other that much on campus,I’ll be trusting you both to catch Soonyoung when he falls for the man.” They both watch in awkwardness as Junhui laughs at his own pun.They eventually talk about class and their own club activities before they settle down finally in their own rooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, I was aiming for that ‘soft for soonyoung’ and ‘protect soonyoung’ kinda feel.So that’s why I made him sound all broken up and weak,trust me ,I resisted killing myself for doing this but yea haha the deed is done.I’ll just go ahead and hide myself in the corner,bye :)


	4. An Inconvenient Attachment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!It’s 1am here but I can’t sleep so I decided to upload another chapter for you guys :D It’s a short chapter but I hope you’ll enjoy it!

A couple of weeks has passed.A couple of weeks which consists of Soonyoung constantly bumping into Wonwoo and Minghao casually asking him to join them for lunch or dinner as if Soonyoung’s opinion didn’t matter and would result to Soonyoung being a jerk to Wonwoo,treating him coldly.

There’s an instance, when Wonwoo accidentally called him ‘Soonie’ once and excused himself by saying “Minghao calls you ‘Soonie’ almost all the time so I thought..yea.” and the reply Soonyoung gave him was a cold toned , “Don’t act so cocky,we don’t even know each other that well.” ,which pierced his heart for days but got healed instantly when he saw Soonyoung laughing.

It’s another day of his college life.Also,is it just him or is Wonwoo starting to have confidence in flirting?It’s another day that he hopes for once,he didn’t have to face Wonwoo.Of course, five minutes after hoping so,Minghao waves his hand towards Wonwoo at the cafeteria.Soonyoung mentally palms his face.

_I swear to god ,what the heck is wrong with this dude_.

He abruptly pulls Minghao’s hand and whispers under his breath but makes sure it’s loud enough for Minghao to hear, “What the hell is wrong with you?Why do we have to eat with this dipshit everyday?”,still maintaining an eye contact with Wonwoo’s every movement.

Minghao,still facing Soonyoung got cut off when Wonwoo arrives next to Minghao,in front of Soonyoung.He glances towards Wonwoo and smiles for a bit before returning back his gaze to Soonyoung.He grins widely before happily announcing, “I just thought that it’ll be great if you two can be good friends.”

“Huh?”, Wonwoo blinks,giving a dumbfounded look.Soonyoung,not even in the slightest of having any intention to hide his emotions,pouts and furrows his eyebrows.”Okay,you know what? I’m done.Listen here,you little shit. You-ack!”

A buff man collided into Soonyoung’s back causing him to scoot forward,bumping his head directly into Wonwoo’s broad chest.After a second of feeling unbelievably fumed,Soonyoung quickly pulls away but stopped immediately when his hair was tangled onto one of Wonwoo’s button.

_ What the hell?How is this possible, I have fucking short hair.What drama am I living in? _

Minghao,being the great friend that he is,smirks and teasingly says,”I’m listening.”

Wonwoo at least tried to untangle it but ended up making it worse.Soonyoung,not being able to stand the awkward situation _(and Wonwoo’s cologne that smells extremely good but he’s not gonna admit that)_ , prays mentally and pulls away as hard as he can.

Thank god,his hair is still attached to his scalp but also no thanks to that, Wonwoo’s button fell off,leaving a hole in the middle of his shirt.All three of them just stare at the hole of Wonwoo’s shirt in silence.As much as he dislikes the man,he did cause this,which leads him to saying, “Sorry.”

Minghao rolls his eyes and huffs at that.Soonyoung swears he can hear Minghao saying “Apologising ain’t gonna patch the button up.” but decides to ignore him.

“Ah,it’s okay.I have plenty at home.I’ll just throw this one away,I guess .”, Wonwoo scratch his head,trying his best to avoid making Soonyoung feel bad.For the past few months of observing (not stalking) Soonyoung,he realised that if Soonyoung feels bad,he tends to pout like a puppy and whenever he does that,Wonwoo would die a little.He definitely does not want Soonyoung to see his legs and knees all wobbly and weak because of that.

Surprisingly,Soonyoung steps forward and fists his collar.It was cute actually.Far from intimidating,looking at his plump hands and head hung downwards while tugging at Wonwoo’s collar.

“..things more.”,are the only words Wonwoo could register coming out of Soonyoung’s mouth.

“What?”,Wonwoo asked trying so hard to resist holding the short man’s puffy cheeks.

Soonyoung looks up to face Wonwoo with a supposedly “angry” face and says loudly,

“I said,learn to value things more,dipshit!”

Wonwoo was left speechless.

_ Dipshit?Is it weird for me to think that it’s cute for him to call me dipshit? _

Wonwoo surely can’t reply with a ‘That’s fucking cute,call me dipshit again.’ so he settles with a simple,“Uh,sorry?”

Soonyoung lets go of his collar and pulls his arm, “Follow me.”,dragging Wonwoo away to only god knows where and leaving Minghao,who has been smirking for the past few minutes by himself looking at them.

Soonyoung continues to drag Wonwoo with his penguin feet,as Wonwoo likes to call them.He stops suddenly in front of a familiar place.

Obviously,Wonwoo would be lying if he said he didn’t recognise this room.Duh,it’s the dance club’s practice room.Like,where else would he go to ‘observe’ (again,not stalk) Soonyoung,which also, the very reason he met Minghao who caught him peeping outside of the practice room.”Weirdo” was what Minghao breathed out before going in,not bother asking who he was and why in the world was he half crouching there.

Minghao met him the second time at the convenience store right outside the campus. “Hey!You’re the weirdo guy!” was the remark he made.They eventually ate ramyun together and Wonwoo might have spilled too much details of him crushing on Soonyoung but that’s in the past now.Besides,Minghao’s totally fine with it.Unless,he hurts Soonyoung, then Minghao would -“Nunchuck you right at your balls.”Shivers.He makes sure not to get on Minghao’s bad side since then.

Soonyoung lets go of his arm,making him longs for warmth.He fumbles around his hoodie and takes out a bunch of keys.He unlocks the door in less than 5 seconds,goes straight in.Wonwoo was about to go in as well,until the door suddenly slams in front of his face.Fuh.He sighs in relief,one more inch,and he can say goodbye to his charming nose.He then waits in confusion.

Soonyoung then swings open the door with a confused face.”What are you doing?Why are you standing there?” Wonwoo blinks and blinks.

”Come in.”

Wonwoo comes in with hesitation.He stands stiffly in front of the door while Soonyoung goes in a smaller room at the corner.He comes out with an oversized shirt.He ushers Wonwoo to come over to him and he did just that.

“Give me your shirt.I’ll stitch the button for you.It’s the least I could do.Here,wear this for the time being.” Wonwoo nods and proceeds to unbutton his shirt casually.Soonyoung let out a half shriek,grabbing onto Wonwoo’s hands to stop him. “Geez,not here!Go change in the locker room.” He pushes Wonwoo into the room.Wonwoo smirks before he closes the door.He says in a teasing tone,”You don’t have to be such a girl about it.I’m not gonna strip all the way down.”

Soonyoung feels his face burning. _ This bastard. _

He rolls his eyes and told Wonwoo to hurry up.

Wonwoo came out of the room ,comments something about how Soonyoung’s oversized t-shirt was made for him as it fits perfectly around his torso.Soonyoung easily discards his attempt on flirting,knowing that it’s just one of the red string’s bullshit symptoms.

“I’ll give this back to you when I’m done with it.And don’t worry,I’ll wash it.”He says to Wonwoo as they step out of the practice room.Wonwoo replies with a ,”No worries.I don’t really care.Whether you wash it or not,if it’s you handling it,I’m sure it’ll smell nice.” wiggling his eyebrows,scrunching his stupid nose.He earned a smack in the head for that.They parted ways eventually.A lot has happened.Nevertheless, Wonwoo was very glad he made quite a progress today.

Soonyoung goes back home with a piece of trash in his hands,and by trash he meant, “Wonwoo’s shirt that I had to fix cause I accidentally pulled the button off.”

“Whoa.I thought you said you ‘hate’ him.Stripping him is definitely not a way of showing it.” Junhui remarks with a shit-eating smug on his face.

“I didn’t strip-“ Soonyoung cut his own words with a heavy sigh and decides to flash a middle finger instead cause he’s too tired to go through this ,“Why’re you back late and whose shirt is that?” interrogation he’s having with his housemates.

Junhui, being the ‘saint’ that he is, gasps dramatically,fake fainting, saying “He used the finger at me.”Soonyoung took this as an opportunity to run away and retreat into his room.

Once the door to Soonyoung’s room shut,all three of them start laughing.

They didn’t actually need an explanation of why Soonyoung’s home late and why he’s holding onto Wonwoo’s shirt cause little did he know,they’ve seen it all.Literally.

Jihoon ends his laugh with a sigh.

”Honestly,I simply cannot fathom how Wonwoo spy on him,crouching like that all the time.We did it for 20 minutes and I feel like I’ve aged 10 more years of my life.”

Junhui nods,remembering the story of how Minghao met Wonwoo which the latter had told them a week ago.

”My feet are numb,my butt is numb,the dumb shit we do for Soonyoung.”

“Well, at least now,Hyung’s a little bit more confident and not that stiff around him.Maybe he’s a bit awkward and stuffy but it’s reduced from before.”

“It’s a great progress.Everything’s going according to plan.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll probably take a rest for a few days. I’m still stuck between my two choices of plot.If I choose my original plot,it’ll be a shorter fic, whereas if I choose my new plot,it’ be longer but less boring.Bet I’ll choose the new plot though.


	5. An Inconvenient Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back!The results of my finals are just out and you guys,I am forever grateful that I didn’t fail any subject.Anyways,here’s another chapter of Wonwoo being gentle and Soonyoung playing hard to get,you know,all that cliche-ness that almost every kdrama has.lmao enjoy!

Summer came but Soonyoung didn’t.He somehow caught a cold at the beginning of summer,despite how weird that is cause who suddenly catch colds in summer? Junhui knocks gently at the door and opens the door carefully.He peeks inside and the view in front of him breaks his heart.Soonyoung,even if all curled up in his blanket is still shivering in the thick clothes he’s wearing,couldn’t even rest for a bit without letting out a couple of coughs or sneezes every five seconds.

Junhui strides on the floor towards Soonyoung’s bed and settle down the porridge Jihoon cooked for him on the night stand.He then carefully sits on the bed next to Soonyoung with a thermometer in his hands.He measures Soonyoung’s body temperature.39.2 shows up.He sighs.

It’s been almost a week.If it’s the notes and the homework that Minghao had to take care of for Soonyoung,it’s nothing.But the suffering that Soonyoung is going through and them,having to witness it every second is unbearable.

Junhui caresses Soonyoung’s hair and swifts it upwards. “Hang in there,Soonie.You’re gonna be fine.”

Soonyoung,half conscious barely smiles andmanages to croak out a small “Thanks.” He’s been feeling nothing but grateful for the past few days.When he felt off and decided to rest at their shared apartment,they were all worried,nonstop asking about his condition,giving him what he needed.Jihoon even went as far as cooking him porridge or chicken soup every meal. 

”Best housemates ever.” was what he said when Minghao volunteered to take notes and fill him in about the classes that he might miss.

Junhui,being free almost all the time,having a very leisured schedule for the week,said he’ll take care of Soonyoung and make sure he takes his medicine,even if it means peeling the blankets off of Soonyoung and forcing him into eating it.

But it’s Friday.And Friday means all of them having classes from morning till evening.Jihoon has a test at 4 p.m.,which sucks cause if it wasn’t for the test,he could have been home early.Minghao has classes till 6 and Junhui the same.

Soonyoung gathers his strength to walk to the front door and pushes his friends out of their home.He managed to say a few words to convince them not to worry and he’s fine,which obviously was not convincing at all with the coughs he included in between his words.They all wear the same expression. The “Just say one word and we’re ready to risk everything and stay here with you for the rest of the day.”expression. Suddenly, classes and test are not important to them anymore.Family comes first and if there’s anything they’d say to describe their relationship? It’s,“We’re family.”

But Soonyoung urges them nonetheless threatening them that if they don’t go to class,he’ll skip medicine and meals.That’s all it takes to make them go away,still not wearing off the expression but at least they’re going.

It’s been an hour since he’s left alone.Being sick is rare for Soonyoung.He gets sick like once in a blue moon so once he’s sick,he’s most likely to be that way for a week or two.He obviously lied when he said he’s fine.Actually,after half an hour he regretted not telling one of them to stay with him.He can endure the physical pain but being all alone,struggling by himself is exhausting.He needs support.

He wanders around the house aimlessly and sits on the couch.The last thing he remembered was swallowing a gulp of water and all went to black.

He woke up with a headache.He looks around and realised that he’s no longer on the couch.He cranes his neck to look at the clock,11 a.m.

_Huh.All of them are supposed to be in class now.Who the hell is it that dares to skip class and come back home_.In his mind,he’s thinking it’s probably Junhui.Minghao wouldn’t be the one cause if he skipped ,who’s gonna take all the notes for him?And Jihoon,well,as harsh as it sounds,Jihoon most likely won’t be home until his test.

He slowly steps out of his room with a blanket hung around his shoulders,covering his body.He notices some clattering noises coming from their kitchen.He sighs and makes his way to the noise,”Junhui,I told you it’s fine,You don’t have to-“

He stands still in front of the kitchen.He expected Junhui to be in the kitchen,instead, he’s greeted with the view of Jeon Wonwoo,his sleeves all folded up,holding a ladle.

He lets go of his blanket and rubs his eyes,not believing what he’s seeing. He stares at the man,mouth agape and if anything convinced him it’s Jeon Wonwoo,it’s the red string connecting them.

“You’re-“

“Soonyoung,you need to lay down.You can’t walk yet,you’re gonna faint again.”

“Why are you here?How did you come in?Who the hell gives you permission to come here?” He asks a string of questions and immediately winces in pain,too much questions cause lots of headaches.

“Minghao called you to check up on you but you didn’t answer.Since I was in the neighbourhood,he asked me to come here and make sure you’re okay.” He sighs and hold Soonyoung when he noticed the fellow slowly losing his balance.

“Minghao gave me the password and when I came in,you were laying on the floor next to the couch.”

Soonyoung exhaled a weak “I don’t need your help.”while clutching onto Wonwoo’s shirt.

“Sure you don’t.” The way Soonyoung’s body was close to him makes his ears go red.He can hear the voice in the back of his head yelling at him to just embrace the boy.

Wonwoo chose to ignore it and lead Soonyoung back to his room.Soonyoung,not having any strength left,leans towards Wonwoo body and decides that he’s too tired to fight.

Wonwoo tucks Soonyoung in his bed and told him to rest.Soonyoung is honestly worried.What if Wonwoo takes this as an opportunity to do something to him?No better way than to take advantage on him when he’s too weak to fight.But instead,Wonwoo steps out of his room immediately after he settles Soonyoung on his bed.

He came back around noon.With a tray on his hands.He dragged Soonyoung’s chair next to his bed and sat down ,putting the tray on the night stand.”Soonyoung.”He hushed gently.

All he got was a couple of coughs and grunts.

“Come on, I know it’s hard but you need to eat.”

Soonyoung curls deeper in his bed,hands grabbing onto his head.

“Come on,you can do it.At least fill yourself up a bit.You’ll feel better.”

After a while, with the help of Wonwoo,Soonyoung managed to sit up and eat the soup that Wonwoo made for him.He ate his medicine right after and goes back to laying.

Wonwoo can’t help but notice the slight shivering.He tried everything.Tried putting another blanket on Soonyoung,he kicks it off right after saying it’s to stuffy.Tried turning on the heater,Soonyoung said it’s too hot.After a few minutes of contemplating,he decided to open the blanket a bit and lay down next to Soonyoung.

It didn’t surprise him that Soonyoung tried to fight him.He was pushed lightly several times until Soonyoung gave up,breathing heavily against Wonwoo’s body.Wonwoo flings his arm around Soonyoung’s waist and pulls him closer, “You need body warmth.Just stay still,I’m not gonna do anything to you.”

_Shit,too close_. Soonyoung was panicking against his body.He can feel Wonwoo’s heart beating fast and could almost hear his own too. _ It’s nothing Soonyoung,you’re just tired and he’s just helping.It’s nothing. _

They both fell asleep,bodies flushed to each other.

Jihoon was home earlier than the other two.The first thing he noticed was a pair of shoes that he knew wasn’t theirs.He calls for Soonyoung and obviously,no response was given.

He assumed that Soonyoung’s asleep.What surprised him was another man’s body,specifically Wonwoo’s all cuddled up with Soonyoung.He raises his eyebrow,make sure to not make any noise when he snapped a picture or two.There’s no way he’s not taking any evidence of this occurrence.

He assumes Minghao must’ve asked Wonwoo a favour to take care of Soonyoung.He makes a mental note to thank Wonwoo later and sent the image to Junhui and Minghao.

(Image attached) 

_ ‘Never gonna let him forget this?’ _

Junhui replies instantly with a bunch of keyboard smash and a brief,

_ ‘Never.’ _

Soonyoung woke up to the sound of his housemates chatting outside.He looks to his side and Wonwoo’s gone. _Of course,he’s gone_.He felt empty for some reason and decides to shrug the feeling off.He felt his body getting better.He stands up for a bit,adjusting himself and walks out of his room.

“Hey,big baby!How’re you feeling?”

Junhui croaks out teasingly.Soonyoung furrowed his eyebrows and replies,”Yeah,feeling better.”

“Thanks to Wonwoo,-“Jihoon started his tease but got cut off by Minghao.

“Speaking of feeling better,I think it’s great if you start moving here and there a bit to let out a few sweat starting tomorrow.”

Soonyoung nods accordingly, “Okay,mom.”

He takes a seat at the dining table when Wonwoo came out of the toilet.Soonyoung thought that Wonwoo has gone home already but it looks like he’s wrong.

“Oh hey,Wonwoo!Wanna stay for dinner?”

(inserts Mulan’s grandma infamous line “wanna stay forever?”)

Junhui invites him ,glancing his eyes toward Soonyoung who refuses to look at Wonwoo.

“Ah,no it’s fine.”

Jihoon convince him,eyes still on his phone,

”Come on,it’s the least we can do.You took care of little Soonie here after all.”

Wonwoo sits next to Soonyoung hesitantly.Face burning up when he reminded of what they did earlier.While Minghao cooks,he kept himself busy, scrolling on his phone to distract him from thinking about cuddling Soonyoung.

“Wonwoo.”A whisper stops him from scrolling.

“Hm?”Wonwoo responded ,glancing at Soonyoung who had his face hidden downwards.

“Thank you.” He looks upwards and gave a small smile at Wonwoo.

“Yeah- I- Anytime.I mean-not anytime though cause I don’t want you to be sick again but-“

“Wonwoo.”Soonyoung calls him again to stop him from stammering.

“S-sorry.”

_Jesus,that caught me of guard,why is he so adorable._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay,I know.This chapter is basically “kdrama starter pack: a scene of the main character getting sick and the other taking care of them”. Bare with me,I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. ;)


	6. An Inconvenient Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey,folks! Sorry for the late update.This whole coronavirus ordeal has been a nuisance to me.I thought it won’t really affect me that much since I’ve graduated school but sike biss,I thOUGHT.I’m not suspected or anything so I’m fine but staying at home is way harder than I think.Anyways,here’s another chapter so enjoy!

A few days later,thanks to Soonyoung’s lovely housemates (and Wonwoo),he’s healthy.

He goes back to his normal daily schedule,all his other friends saying they missed him,especially Mingyu who immediately hugged him and made quite a scene at breakfast.

During lunch ,he saw a glimpse of Wonwoo.He didn’t join for lunch which was weird because usually Minghao would’ve induced him to.Soonyoung also noticed the way he glances at him once in a while and immediately avoided eye contact as soon as their eyes locked on each other.He simply shrugged it off and enjoyed his lunch.

Minghao told him they have no club activity for the day and said that he wanted to study at the library.The dance club is also temporarily on a break since a lot of his peers are busy studying.Soonyoung thought he got nothing better to do so just as Minghao has hoped,he tagged along.

On their way to the library,Minghao excuses himself to the toilet ,telling Soonyoung to go on ahead and save him a seat.Soonyoung does as he was told and surprisingly found Wonwoo at the table they always sit at.

“Oh.Hi.” Wonwoo waves at Soonyoung but of course,knowing Soonyoung,he avoids eye contact and proceeded to search for other available tables.

He was about to walk past Wonwoo when he grabbed Soonyoung’s hand and dragged him in between the shelves.

“What is it,Wonwoo?”

Soonyoung snatches his hand back and stares right at Wonwoo’s eyeballs.

Wonwoo,Soonyoung noticed,seems nervous for some reason.

“I,uh- I need to tell you something.”

Soonyoung raises his eyebrow and thought, _ This can’t be good.Why do I have a bad feeling about this? _

Nevertheless,he nodded lazily as sign for Wonwoo to continue.

The taller man takes a deep breath and suddenly rests his hands on Soonyoung’s shoulders.He locks his eyes with Soonyoung.

“I think I like yo-“

“Whoa! Whoa! Hold it there!” Soonyoung jerks his shoulders upwards to shrug Wonwoo hands off and put his both hands in the air.

“Look,I know what you’re about to say, and lemme clear this whole misunderstanding up.”

“Misunderstanding? No, I really-“

“Listen.”Soonyoung cut his words sternly.”You don’t actually like me,okay? You misunderstood this whole fond feelings. You regarded this feelings as “love” when you don’t actually feel that way.I know,it’s hard to understand.But trust me, if it wasn’t for the string,you would’ve never felt attracted towards me in the first place.”

“What? What string?No,I’m not misunderstanding anything,I felt this way for a very long time and-“

“Wonwoo,if you don’t drop this whole ‘i like you’ thing, I don’t think-“ He sighs as he squeezes his brain to come up with an acceptable reason. “Look,I actually thought we’re gonna be good friends but now you ruined it with this confused feelings of yours.Sorry, but I have to go.”

Soonyoung left without glancing back.He ended up leaving the library and went back home.What greeted him was Minghao,Junhui and Joshua,watching the television.

Minghao furrowed his eyebrows and goes to Soonyoung as he was taking off his shoes.

“Where’s Wonwoo?”

Soonyoung glares at him.

“What do you mean,where’s Wonwoo?”

Minghao blinks a few times.

“He didn’t show up at the library?”

Soonyoung tilts his head and suddenly realised.

“How did you know- It’s you ,isn’t it? And Junhui, and Jihoon? You guys planned this,didn’t you? You know how I felt about him!”

“Wait-“

Soonyoung ignores them and goes straight to his room,slamming the door a little bit too hard out of frustration.

Minghao slumps right into the couch,sighing.

“I told you,we should’ve waited a bit more.”

Junhui takes a sip of water.

“Well,I thought after the whole fever accident that happened ,there’s no way,he didn’t feel anything.”

“He’s still confused.We can’t rush things.”

Joshua,completely blank about the whole ordeal just glances back and forth.

“You should check up on Wonwoo.I’ll talk to Soonie.”Minghao nods and grabs his phone to dial Wonwoo’s number.

Junhui stands up and head straight to Soonyoung’s room with Joshua tailing him from behind.He knocks a few times and receives , “Fuck off,Junhui.” in return.

_Here we go again_.It’s not rare for Soonyoung to be acting like this,For instance,when Junhui and Minghao went on a double date with their boyfriends and left Soonyoung with Jihoon on a Friday night. They came home to Jihoon,alone in front of the tv, saying “You left him on a Friday night,it’s no wonder he’s angry.”

“Friday nights are supposed to be movie nights.You should’ve just invited them over instead of leaving us here.” ,was what Soonyoung said when they finally coaxed him.

Soonyoung acts like the youngest of the family,so it’s normal for him to be this way.When he’s like this, not even Jihoon can talk to him for the nextfew hours.

Joshua, is different though.Soonyoung has a soft spot for Joshua as the elder always gives him advices and comforts him.Whenever they have a fight,Joshua would always be the one who resolves it.

“Lemme try,Junnie.”

Junhui,knowing well,nods and steps aside.

Joshua tried twisting the doorknob gently,locked.

He knocks softly,no response.

“Soonie?It’s me.”

No response,again.

“I don’t know what’s wrong so you have to tell me,okay?If you don’t, I can’t help you.”

A few seconds past before they hear a few footsteps closing towards the door.It took him exactly 27 seconds to open it a little bit.They couldn’t see his face but his voice is clearly broken.

“Just Joshua.”

Joshua glances at Junhui and mouths, “I’ll be back.” to his boyfriend.

Joshua goes in Soonyoung’s room and closes the door.He follows Soonyoung and sits next to him on the bed.The next thing he knew,Soonyoung’s all teared up and curled next to him.

He explained with hiccups what happened and Joshua did nothing but listen.

He lets Soonyoung cry it all out.

“They knew I hate him yet they did it anyway.No one understands me.”

“Hey,Soonie?”

Soonyoung stops rambling and looks at Joshua with glassy eyes.

“Look, I don’t know who this Wonwoo guy is and I don’t know why you hate him but,” He stops and hesitates for a second before continuing,”Listen.I’m not supposed to do this and Jun will be very mad if I did.Here.”

Joshua lights up his phone and sends Soonyoung a contact number.

“He’s an old friend of mine and he’s an expert at this whole fate thing.He’s the one who tied my string and Junhui’s together.”

Soonyoung has indeed been known that Joshua and Junhui weren’t natural soulmates.He can feel that their strings didn’t match with each other but decided to stay silent about it.Joshua told him how they fell in love with each other.Joshua’s childhood friend told him that he wasn’t meant for Junhui hence they decided to cut their strings and retied them together.

Soonyoung didn’t know that the strings can actually be altered so listening to this rises up suspicions.

“So if you really feel like you’re being dragged down by this string just give him a call and meet up.He’ll help you.”

“Thanks,hyung.”

“Anything,Soonie.”

After a while,Soonyoung came out with Joshua and forgave his friends.He knows better than anyone that anything they do was just to make him happy.He makes sure to let them know that he appreciate the thoughts.

A few days passed and he still couldn’t found himself being around Wonwoo without feeling stuffy and awkward.He couldn’t stand the air around Wonwoo and decided to cut it all off.

————————

Soonyoung is starting to run out of patience.He glances at his clock one more time as if he didn’t just do that a minute ago.He furiously taps his right foot,crossing his arms.He has been waiting for half an hour now and his hot chocolate is almost at the bottom of the cup.

“Five more minutes and I’m leaving.” He mutters to himself.Almost five minutes after, a man came in the coffee shop and looking around like a meerkat.He spots Soonyoung and jogs his way to the table.

He’s breathing heavily,hair’s all a mess and sweat beading on his forehead. “I’m sorry.I had an urgent matter earlier.”

Soonyoung blinks his eyes as he watches the man.”So,Yoon Jeonghan-ssi?”

“Ah!Yes, just call me Jeonghan.”

Soonyoung nods his head and clasps Jeonghan’s outstretched hand.”I’m Soonyoung.”

“So,Soonyoung.Shua told me you have a problem?”

“Ah,yes.It’s, you see I found my,uh-“

Soonyoung cuts his words and clears his throat.He was contemplating whether to say it or not when Jeonghan casually continues his sentence like he can easily read Soonyoung’s mind.

“Soulmate?And you don’t like her?”

Soonyoung snaps his eyes right at Jeonghan.

“Him.”,he firmly corrects Jeonghan.

“Well,I can cut him off if you want to.”

Jeonghan’s offer was too good to be true,causing Soonyoung to uncontrollably squint his eyes and gives Jeonghan a suspicious look.

Jeonghan,being used to this reaction, calmly raises his hand and hold onto the air.Well, any normal person would think he’s holding onto the air.Soonyoung ,however can clearly see that Jeonghan is holding onto none other than his own red string.Jeonghan tugs at it a bit which caused Soonyoung to gasp softly.The elder then retracts his hand.”Can you trust me now?”

“You can touch it?”Soonyoung marvels at Jeonghan and waves his hand in between the string.It goes right through.Jeonghan can’t help a chuckle that escaped his mouth.

“Of course,I can.Otherwise,how could I alter it?”

Soonyoung nods his head with his mouth shaped as an ‘o’. “I’ve been meaning to ask this,I hope it’s not a sensitive topic for you.”

Jeonghan tilts his head before nodding slightly to induce Soonyoung to continue.

“How come you have no strings attached?”

Soonyoung keeps his eyes on Jeonghan’s pinky.He noticed it a bit while ago and that rises curiosity in him.

“Ah,”Jeonghan lifts his pinky.

“This?Well,to be honest I’m not the only one with this ability.Obviously,you know that,since you can also see them.It runs in the family.Most of us,at least.My sister can’t see them and some of us can’t as well.But for the ones that can, like me, we don’t have any strings attached.We don’t really know why. I like to think that it’s some kind of divine’s punishment for us since we kept messing with people’s soulmates.”

Soonyoung nods again with a slight pout on his face. “So, about cutting him off,”

He gives Jeonghan a look like he’s saying “does it actually works?”

“Oh yes,I can cut it.Actually, since you can see them, you can cut it too.”

Jeonghan then fumbles with his bag and takes out a small box.He slides it over to Soonyoung.”Here.”

Soonyoung opens the box, revealing a pair of scissors.  _ Of course,why didn’t I see that coming? _

He was about to reach his hand out and take the scissors but was stopped by Jeonghan’s voice.

“Ah right!” He then suddenly holds both of Soonyoung’s hands for a few seconds and let them go.”There.Now ,you can touch the scissors and the strings.”

Soonyoung’s eyes double in size and got widen more when he tugs on his own string.He has this amazed facade on and it amuses Jeonghan. 

“Soonyoung,listen to me carefully.” Jeonghan closes the box properly to gather Soonyoung’s attention.”From this moment on,you have precisely 4 days to cut it off.After that,the effects will wear off and you won’t be able to touch the scissors nor the strings anymore. I’m not gonna be in town tomorrow for a couple of weeks so I can’t really do it for you.You have to make up your mind and cut it before it wears off.”

Soonyoung nods his head seriously. 

“I’m sure about this.”

Jeonghan’s phone suddenly rings and he answers it.”Yeah.Wait,in 20 minutes? I thought-oh.Yea,okay.See ya.”

Jeonghan hurriedly pockets his phone and looks at Soonyoung.”I have to go now.Make sure you do it in 4 days,okay?”

“Yea,okay.”

Jeonghan was about to leave when he abruptly turn around.

“Right! I almost forgot. When you cut the string,make sure you look at him into his eyes and reject him properly.Say your goodbyes to him while you cut it.Otherwise,it won’t work.”

He bids goodbye as Jeonghan leaves the shop with a slightly loud warning “Don’t forget! Four days!”.

Soonyoung sighs to himself. _ So I have to reject him huh? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry I’ll try to update regularly.Don’t forget to wear mask and hand sanitizer when going out!Also wash your hands for 20 seconds!Tips : Sing your favourite song’s chorus while washing your hands so you won’t feel bored.For example, Seventeen’s new song,Falling Flower.Ahaha what a bop,am I right?


	7. An Inconvenient String

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guyss!! I’m so sorry for the super slow update😭Damn it. I was in a total slump.I haven’t finished the 8th chapter yet so expect a late update😔I’m sorry.Anyways,enjoy this angst chapter.

“What?Why?”

“I don’t know.He’s waiting for you in the library.”

“Alright,thanks!”

Soonyoung was lost in thoughts when Wonwoo approaches him.”Hey.”He takes a seat in front of Soonyoung as the latter jolts.

“Ah,hi.” Soonyoung darted his eyes nervously,trying very hard to avoid eye contact.

“You wanted to see me?”Wonwoo asks cautiously.

“Oh,yeah.Um about the other day,I-“

“I’m sorry” Wonwoo cuts him off with an apology as he sighs .”I shouldn’t force my feelings onto you.I should’ve given you more time and hold myself back.” Soonyoung blinks blankly.  _ Great.Now he’s guilt tripping me. _

He takes a deep breath and gathers his courage to look at Wonwoo in the eyes.

“Right,about that.I’m really sorry,Wonwoo.I tried to think about it but I just can’t return your feelings.”He fiddles under the table to reach onto his string then holds it and the scissors in his other hand.”It’s never gonna work.I don’t like you that way.”

_Snap_.

_ It’s cut.It’s really cut.I did it. _

Soonyoung lets go of the string and shifts his gaze back to Wonwoo.He was about to apologise again because no matter how he looks at it,it wasn’t Wonwoo’s fault.He stopped himself before he let out the apology and was left speechless.There were tears.Tears running down Wonwoo’s cheeks.He didn’t sob.He doesn’t cry like Soonyoung always do.Snorts and saliva everywhere on his face,sobbing like a mess,wailing like a baby. No,he cried silently.

“Wonwoo-“ The man suddenly stands up.He wipes his eyes.It was useless as more tears stream down his cheek,wetting his cheeks yet again. “Sorry,I- It’s fine,I get it.I understand,it’s okay.”

Soonyoung was too late to stop him before he dashed out.He’s suddenly washed with guilt.He tried hard to convince himself that everything he did was for the best.

Two days passed.They did crossed paths but each act like the other didn’t exist.Soonyoung,at least tried to talk to him but was stopped by Mingyu who then dragged him to the club saying Minghao was looking for him.Curse Mingyu.

“Great work,guys!” Nagisa’s voice echoes through the room as the photography club’s members pack up their props.

“So!” Minghao slings his arm around Soonyoung,snapping him out of his thoughts. “What’s for dinner?You’re cooking today,right?”

Soonyoung’s eyes dart away from Minghao’s, a mischievous grin forming on his face.

“We’re eating ramyeon.”

Minghao’s face hardens at his reply.”Wha- ramyeon? You-“ He strangles Soonyoung’s neck with his arm playfully,discarding any useless attempt of Soonyoung to run away.

They head out of the room,laughing giddily.

Soonyoung’s laugh ends abruptly as soon as he saw Wonwoo sitting on the bench in front of them.

He was about to risk it all and run for his life when Wonwoo suddenly stands up with his eyes on Soonyoung.There’s no doubting it,he was waiting for Soonyoung.

“Hey,can I talk with you for a sec?”

Soonyoung sends a desperate look to Minghao,squeezing his hand.Minghao,being completely oblivious to the signal raises his eyebrow and leaves them after saying, “You’re still cooking for dinner.”

Soonyoung unconsciously clears his throat.He fiddles with the hem of his sweatshirt,a habit, Wonwoo couldn’t help but notice.

“So, uh I sorted my feelings and I guess you’re right after all.”Wonwoo rubs his nape as Soonyoung stares at him,a bit confused.

“I think I do like you but like a platonic kind of like.You know?” Soonyoung keeps his silence and gives chance for Wonwoo to continue.

“Maybe I was just confused.I guess I’m just fond of you.Just like how I’m fond of Minghao and the other juniors.You don’t have to worry,I don’t really feel that way anymore.”

_ So it’s true then.Once the red string is cut,the feelings wear off.That’s pretty quick,I didn’t expect for it to take merely a couple of days. _

“Oh.” was the noise he managed to say.It’s a lot to take.This guy has been pining for him and flirting with him for the past few months ,saying he likes him and now he doesn’t?It should be great.This is the moment Soonyoung has been wishing for but why doesn’t it feel as satisfying as he expected for it to be?

“I hope we can continue as friends from now on.” Wonwoo gives Soonyoung a smile.A genuine one.The one that makes his nose scrunch and his eyes into thin lines.

_ Huh.I never noticed he has that kind of smile before.Does he always smile like that? _

“Ah,yea.Thanks for telling me all this.”He glances at the space between their hands.No strings attached.How long has he been praying for this? He should feel good.Instead ,he’s overwhelmed with unknown feelings,which he hope was guilt.

“Damn it, Minghao stop pacing,I’m trying to watch the tv here.” Jihoon grunts as his lanky friend ignores him.”I’m worried.”He gazes at the clock and sighs vigorously.

“If it’s about dinner, I can cook for tonight.” Junhui offers as he plops on the couch.”No,it’s not about that.”He finally sits down.

“I left him with Wonwoo Hyung earlier.He wanted to talk to Soonyoung so l went home first.”He pauses for a second. “That was four hours ago.”

Junhui unknowingly forms a smirk. “You think they’re..”He stops talking and wiggles his eyebrows, making ominous gestures with his hands.Even so,both of them understood and Jihoon quickly slaps his hands away.

“Dude,stop.”

“No,they looked way too serious earlier.Did Soonyoung tell any of you what happened between him and Wonwoo Hyung?Is it just me or does the way they ignore each other seems off?”

Junhui opens his mouth to say something but stops when said man walks into their shared apartment.

“Soonyoung,where have you-“ 

“Hey,I bought chicken for dinner-“

Minghao wastes no time and goes straight to Soonyoung,startling the latter.

”Oh thank god,you’re alive.What happened?Where were you?Why aren’t you picking any of my calls?”He bombards the latter with questions as he frantically looks for any visible injuries whatsoever on Soonyoung’s body.

“I’m fine.Just,had to do something.”

“Your phone?”

“Out of battery.Sorry.”

He sets the box of chicken on their table and excuses himself,assuring Minghao one last time that he’s fine and not hungry.

Soonyoung takes off his coat and hovers it over his chair.He exhales as he settles on his bed.

_It’s really over now.I don’t like him,he doesn’t like me.The string is gone.I did it?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay before you come at me,don’t worry.This is probably like the oNLY angst chapter in the whole au.It’s not even that bad.Silent crier Wonwoo is a very nice aesthetic.Besides,the next chapter is gonna be bit heart fluttering so I had to include a little bit angst in this one to spice up the flavour.Thanks for reading! (￣∀￣)


	8. An Inconvenient Stiffness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh why hello,would you look at that? Yes, that’s right,I’m running out of ideas for the chapters’s titles.Sorry for the long wait  
> （ ｉ _ ｉ ）,it was frustrating how hard it was for me to write but then at the same time i want to finish this fanfic as fast as possible.I hope you enjoy this half-assed written chapter ;_;

Weeks passed and Soonyoung notices how very few times he bumped into Wonwoo lately.Back then,they’d run into each other like at least three times a day but now he doesn’t even see Wonwoo that much anymore.It’s not like they’re close or anything but it feels weird.Minghao pointed it out too.

“Hey,what’s wrong?”He had asked Minghao few days ago when the younger was sighing during lunch.”It’s Wonwoo hyung.” Soonyoung flinched at the name.”He’s been suspiciously busy lately.I mean,who suddenly has chess games on weekends?”

“Anyone?”

“Anyone that isn’t Wonwoo Hyung?Yes but Wonwoo Hyung?No. He clearly doesn’t play chess,he said it’s ‘lame’ and now he’s suddenly interested ?No doubt,he’s avoiding me.”

Soonyoung stood up with his dish,ignoring Minghao’s complaints and headed over to the sink.”Or maybe he’s avoiding someone else.” He heard Junhui whispers to Minghao.

Sometimes, he felt that too.Don’t get him wrong,it’s not like he missed Wonwoo or something(definitely a lie) but it’s just suspicious how Wonwoo always visibly change his path or act like he didn’t see Soonyoung.

_ Thought he wanted to be friends.What kind of person run away from their friends?Is he guilt-tripping me for rejecting him? _

———————————————————

“You sure this gonna work?”

“Yes.”

“Like,extremely sure?”

“Extremely.”

Seokmin sighs. “I don’t know,Wonwoo. Doesn’t seems like it’s working.It’s been weeks.”

“It will.”Wonwoo looks at his friend with desperate eyes. “It has too.”

“He rejected you.”Seokmin argues.

“He was confused.”

“Are you really sure,letting someone know that you’re over them is gonna help? Someone who clearly rejected you,not once,but twice.”Seokmin raises his voice slightly at the word ‘twice’.

Wonwoo swallows the lump in his throat.Okay,he lied about him being over Soonyoung.So?What about it? If Soonyoung really think rejecting him is gonna make him stop and give up,he’s nuts.

He was so sure Soonyoung has feelings for him.Well,he’s still sure about that,just not as much as before.The boy’s just confused.He just needs a little push and this is it.

((“Avoiding him?”Seokmin voice sounded so unsure the first time Wonwoo told him about this plan.It had only been a few days since Soonyoung officially rejected him.God,how embarrassing it was when he couldn’t hold in his tears.

“Yea.Maybe,all this time he sees me as a nuisance because I’ve been ,like you liked to say, ‘too clingy and flirty’. Well, hypothetically if he likes me and I avoid him,he’ll feel empty without my presence.He’ll start to realise my absence and-“

“And he’ll start looking for you and realising how important you are in his life and how wrong he was about hating you?Yea. Definitely been reading too much romance novels.”Seokmin rested his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“I’m just saying this cause I care for you,I really do.Do whatever you want,just don’t hurt yourself.I wanna see you happy too.”))

“Hey,you said it yourself,you saw him staring at me in the library.”

“Nope.Pretty sure he was eyeing the table he always sits at cause you were sitting there.”

“Seokmin.”Wonwoo whines helplessly.Not even his friend can support him.The summer festival is getting near and if he can’t get Soonyoung to like him then,he’s gonna spend his time alone,again in his big ass home without any boyfriend to cuddle with.

_ Soonyoung. _

_ Soonyoung-ah. _

“Kwon Soonyoung!”Soonyoung was snapped out of his thoughts as his friend stares helplessly at him.”What?”

“Do you think we need more lights here?”

He scoots over to Minghao,who has spread over their rough sketch of the stage.Thank god ,Minghao is awfully good at this.

“Don’t you think that’s too much?”

“Then,should we cut it down a bit?”

Soonyoung nods as he points at a few spot on the sketch.”I don’t think we need any spotlight here,and over here too.It’ll be too blinding.”

“Alright.I asked some friends of mine to install the lights tomorrow.It should be finished by Friday,along with the stage.”Soonyoung flashes two thumbs up before patting his friend’s back.

If he had known,he would have twisted his hands and gave Minghao thumbs down instead.

“Hao,why is he here again?”

“He’s the only person I trust handling this whole tech stuffs.”

“And those other guys?”

“His team.I also trust them.”

Soonyoung sighs.He can’t really complain.As much as he hates to acknowledge it,Wonwoo does know what he’s doing when it comes to tech.He’ll just have to endure a few more days and after the festival,they’ll surely won’t be seeing each other again.

The whole day ,unlike Wonwoo,Soonyoung seems restless.Minghao noticed it right away how every time he bumped into Wonwoo while working he’d get all worked up and stutters when he apologises. He whips his head in every direction,looking for Junhui and didn’t found the latter.

“I know exactly what you’re thinking.”Minghao jumps at the sudden voice behind him.It was Junhui.He calms himself down before casually continuing his work. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh me?I’m talking about the way they moves awkwardly around each other.”He points towards a direction vaguely.Minghao peeks over the stage plans he’s holding and sees Soonyoung checking his dance routine with the other members and Wonwoo talking with his friends about the tech set up.

“I know, it’s been like that for a long time now.”

“Well,it’s obvious that they’re- Oh shit!”

Junhui exclaims,jumping Minghao at the sudden curse. “I’m gonna be late for my part time job!See you at home!”Minghao shakes his head as he watches his friend scrambles away.

Setting up the stage was hard.Whose idea was it to perform outdoor?Ah,yes.Soonyoung’s idea.Speaking of Soonyoung,Minghao noticed how weird his attitude was.There was an instance when a freshman,girl, who almost fell down the unstable stairs from the stage.Wonwoo caught her,thank god for that but Soonyoung seemed to be bothered about it.His comment was “What a show off.Bet he’s done that with all the girls.”,which makes no sense cause since when does Soonyoung cares about what Wonwoo does.

He made sure to keep his eyes on the pair in case he missed something but couldn’t seem to figure out.

This went on for days.Until the day before the festival.Which is today.

“So,” Jihoon settles his cup of ramen on the coffee table.”When are you guys performing?”

Minghao drops his book on his face and sits up immediately.”Wait.”Junhui butts in with an amused expression on his face.

“You’re going?”

“No way.”Minghao adds.

“The World’s Number 1 Homebody,in all his 164cm glory is going to the festival?”Soonyoung asks jokingly as Minghao tries his best to stifle his laugh.Jihoon makes sure to give Soonyoung’s head a good smack for that before he replies. “It’s not everyday that you guys get to perform outdoor.Besides,we don’t have any assignments due so,yes I guess I’m going.”

“I ,sometimes,regret my life choices.”Jihoon mumbles as he stares at Minghao,who’s holding a costume in front of him at the photography club’s stall.”Oh,come on,Jihoon.”

“No.I didn’t come here to work.”

“But the person who was supposed be our mascot got sick suddenly.There’s no one else left.”

“Where’s Soonyoung?Thought he’s part of the club?”

“He’s preparing for the performance tonight.Please,I’ll even pay you.”

Jihoon sighs as Minghao gives him his puppy eyes.He knew something would happen today.He shouldn’t have left the apartment the moment he felt something was off.He was about to refuse again when Minghao cuts him off with a great deal.

“You can eat everything here at the stall.For free.”

“I-“

“Everything.Anything.Free.”

Jihoon rubs his nape,contemplating.Well,it’s not like he’s short on cash.He still got enough money to buy his own food but if it’s free?

“I mean,if you put it that way,”He peeks over at Minghao.”Fine.One hour and I’m done.”

Minghao giggles as he excitedly drags Jihoon to the changing room.

“Oh and we got you a front row seat for tonight.”

“Nice.Anyone sitting next to me that I know of?”

“Wonwoo Hyung.”

They both smirk at each other sending signs through their eyes as if they know exactly what’s about to go down that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the reason i chose “an inconvenient stiffness” as the chapter’s title is bc as you can probably see,in this chapter,soonyoung is being infuriatingly stiff around wonwoo and boi,was he jealous of that freshman girl bcs “it should’ve been mE”.yes im sleep deprived and yes, i should go to sleep now, it’s 2am.thanks for reading,it meant a lot to me :3 <3


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